We headed back to the boat (in Hilton Head, SC – a little later than planned. Like many others, we were flying Southwest and our original flight was cancelled, so we rebooked for Dec. 31st. Luckily, we arrived, and all systems were intact, even though the thermometer indicated a low of 29o inside the boat!! Good thing Anthony came down just before Christmas to winterize everything or we could have come back to much worse.
We rented a car in Hilton Head, which gave us access to grocery stores, marine/hardware supplies, and laundry facilities, and a long list of things to do before heading south. Shopping (provisioning) in the Bahamas is limited and expensive, so we wanted to stock up, but since we “lost 3 days”, our schedule was compressed! After multiple trips to the grocery store, the liquor store, the marine hardware store, and 4 loads of laundry, we were ready to go.
The weather looked favorable for Thursday (1/5), so we cast off at 11:00 am for the ~ 48 hour sail to West Palm Beach. We had friends (aka crew) arriving on Jan. 10th so we didn’t want to cut it any closer.
It was a pretty uneventful sail (thankfully) – part sailing and part motoring – and we arrived on Saturday, 1/7. We were anchored next to the Palm Beach Country Club, and across from 2 marinas with very large yachts!! West Palm is a whole ‘nother level of rich.
We cleaned the boat, had lunch and dinner, and went to bed EARLY. On Sunday, we got off the boat and had a look around West Palm Beach. There was a Starbuck’s (yay!) and a Publix grocery within walking distance, so we did more shopping to make sure the fridge and freezer were full before leaving the States. We have a dark chocolate habit and go through a bar almost every day! We even saw Serena Williams on our journey around town!
Our friends (Jeff and Rachael) arrived on Jan. 10th, so with only one day until heading to the Bahamas, we wanted to get some exercise while we had the chance. After a nice breakfast, we rented bikes and rode around the area, along the path around the golf course and into town. It was beautiful ride topped off with lunch at Bradley’s Saloon. Notice the birds around Jeff just waiting for us to finish!
The winds looked good for departure on Thursday, 1/12, and were set to pull up anchor around 7:00 am. However, at “O dark thirty”, Anthony heard the “drip, drip, drip of a smelly, brown fluid”… which was leaking into the bilge. We were using holding tanks as required but had one flush too many before heading out. This photo shows Anthony cleaning up the “shit show”. Note: I’m not just photographing this, I’m doing my part supplying paper towels and taking away the “refuse”.
Once we cleaned up the mess, we set off!
We were about 20 miles from our destination – Spanish Wells – where we wanted to clear into the country – and Anthony lost his favorite hat. It wasn’t exactly a man overboard drill (MOB), but we did follow the same procedure to retrieve it – stop the boat while someone keeps an eye on the HOB (hat overboard).
The weather did not cooperate to allow us off the boat the next day, so we read and played cards while the wind blew… Once the wind died down, we headed to South Allen’s Cay, just north of Highbourne Cay.
As we came in, we saw a familiar site…. Another Outremer called Norm the Storm. We were docked just behind him for two weeks and crossed the Atlantic together in the ARC rally – What a small world!
As soon as the “hook” was down, we went over for “happy hour”. From here, we hopped along the island chain and eventually to Staniel Cay , famous for Thunderball Grotto and featured in the James Bond Thunderball film.
We tried to catch “dinner” along the way…. Jeff was ready and waiting, but “no joy”.
Rachael also had a turn sailing the boat. – sort of our “crew in training” program!
Just like owning a home, things break and they need to be repaired. Sometimes it’s a little more challenging on a boat. In our case, one of the bulkheads for our dinghy got a crack in it. Since it’s considered our “car”, we couldn’t wait until we got back to FL to address the problem – it might get worse and then we’d really be stuck! So, you have to improvise. Sailors have to have a bit of a McGyver personality – if you don’t know who this is, you can look it up!
Here’s Anthony using what we have on board to make the repair.
Boats also need to be cleaned regularly because saltwater is corrosive to any kind of metal and abrasive to fiberglass. So anyone who sails with us is put to work!
All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to our friends and catch up on work. Between now and our next guests, we’ll connect with some old sailing friends and make some new friends.
This picture was taken by new friends, Brian and Sheryl, on GottaLife , anchored in front of us.
Until next time….
1st Generation McGiver salutes your ingenuity.
Great Post. Also, beautiful water patina.
What a LIFE 🌈 are we your next guests? We are Ready to clean and cook and retrieve hats that go overboard but we are NOT ready to make McGyver like repairs 🤪 Good job Anthony 💪🏻. We can’t wait to meet up with you guys. Happy Sailing ⛵️
Hello Anthony and Janice, I’m hitchhiking around the world on sailboats. I crossed with the ARC+ this year, where two nice Outremer 51’s (Helia2 and Piment Rouge) were competing. Ever since I’ve wanted to try one. And today, 11th of march, I spotted one here by Stocking Island and found your website. Now, I’m actually trying to reach Port Canaveral. Considering you were there just a few months ago trying to escape bad and cold weather, and the dinghy paragraph I’m guessing you’re not on your way back just yet. In that case just consider this a compliment on the boat and the blog, but if you are headed towards Florida I’d love to be a new friend and guest onboard.
I’m Ian on Out of Bounds for the net/68 and you have my email.
Sorry February, of course.